Tawse Winery Vineland, Ontario www.tawsewinery.ca Winemaker, Paul Pender Sketches of Niagara Chardonnay $19.95 Available at Winery, LCBO soon. Terroir is an elusive word, unacknowledged by spellcheck, bandied about by wine-folk much in the way politicians use the word “change” – many of them throw it into speech, most know what it means, but very few actually embrace…

www.cafetaste.com Jeremy Day of Parkdale’s Café Taste is perhaps the closest thing we have to a revolutionary in the world of Ontario wine. The comparison is more than just aesthetic – yes, he wears a Castro cap and his Café is in Parkdale, and Day is a self-proclaimed socialist, but he’s not just fighting the…

Crush Wine Bar is a wine-lover’s paradise. All slick lines, glass windows, soft banquets and dark wood, it’s an oasis just west of the financial district that beckons with a wine cellar as diverse as the city itself. Mark Moffatt, Sommelier and General Manager, has aggressively supported local wine since he ran the wine program…

A common misconception, oft quoted by local wine deterrents, is that buying local wine means paying more for it. While most good VQA wines do fall above the $10 price point, there are plenty under $15 and even more under $20 that run circles around any of the cheaper imports with funky names and labels….

Ravine Vineyard Niagara, Ontario www.ravinevineyard.com Winemaker, Peter Gamble 2009 Gewurztraminer $22 Available online and at the winery. Ravine Vineyards, with an idyllic farmhouse setting in the village of St. David’s in Niagara, is more like a friends’ cottage than a winery. You’ll find no prize-winning architecture, no pricey tasting flights, no coached wine-pouring monkeys reciting script –…

13th Street June Vineyard’s Riesling 2008$16.95, VINTAGES 147512www.13thstreetwinery.com When friends or family members ask for wine recommendations, by now, they often know what I’m going to say: “buy something VQA, preferably a white, probably a Riesling.” There are some wines that stand as my go-to recommendations, if people are flexible with prices ranges, I’ll inevitably…

Pelee Island Pinot Grigio VQA$12.95, LCBO 326413 I’ll admit that Pelee Island wines are not my go-to at the LCBO. Knowing that the winery is one of the larger, more commercial operation in the province and knowing that plenty of their wines are actually “Cellared in Canada”, meaning they are not made with 100% grapes,…